So, you just LOVE the 1960s, huh? Are you looking for a house that’s got all that ‘60s charm? Like any other era, specific styles will vary, depending on the location. There are, however, a few features that were commonly found in homes of this era. Here’s what to expect:
Exterior Features in a 1960s-Built Home
- Emphasis on landscaping and working within the landscape/environment
- Post-Modern era styles in luxury homes
- Ranch houses
- Cape Cod style homes
- Split-level Mediterranean style homes
- Screened porches
- Patios
- Attached garages (for one or more cars)
- Single-pane windows
- Slab-on-grade foundations
- Roofs of low-slope and flat (gravel) construction, as well as gable and hip roofs
- Brick, wood and asbestos shingle siding
Interior Features in a 1960s Era Home
- Lathe and plaster walls
- Galvanized steel pipes for incoming water supply and cast iron drain pipe
- Circuit breakers (usually 100 amp) and grounded plugs
- At least two bedrooms (often three or four)
- Formica countertops in kitchens
- Forced air heating
- Lead paint/asbestos (tiles, pipe insulation, ceiling tiles)
- Cabinets made of Formica, walnut, oak, cherry
- Under-cabinet and hidden soft lighting
- Kitchen cabinet hardware using magnetic catches, nylon drawer rollers, and ball-bearing drawer glides
- Living rooms/family rooms outfitted with comfortable seating and used daily
- Bedrooms had closets
- Many homes had a dressing room and/or wardrobe space
- Bathrooms equipped with both a shower and a bathtub
Decorative Trends
- Nylon carpeting, and later shag rugs, were often found in living areas and bedrooms
- Vinyl-coated wallpaper was introduced
- Mod-pile fuzzy covers for the toilet tank, toilet seat, and bathroom scale, plus rugs beside the tub and in front of the toilet, and to cover a tissue box
- Pole lamps; adjustable pole shelving
- Pendant lamps/Lava Lamps
- Starburst clocks
- Danish modern furniture styles
- Papered walls
- Popular appliance and bathroom colors: white, Coppertone, turquoise, pink, and yellow – with Harvest Gold and Avocado coming on in the later years
- Bean bags and space pod seating
- Flowers/stripes/woven cane prints/busy patterns/bold black-and-white patterns/paisley prints
Design Features and Influences (Interiors)
- Colonial
- Venetian
- Provincial
- Riviera
- Mediterranean
1960s Appliances
- Modern kitchens:
- Stove (four burners, often with a second oven overhead, and a broiler rack below the bottom oven)
- Refrigerator (often side-by-side styles)
- Dishwasher (portable and built-in models)
- Washer/dryer combos (matching sets)
- Black-and-white television in most living rooms, replaced by color at the end of the decade, plus “entertainment” center consoles, which included a phonograph player for 45-RPMs and LP vinyl records, and a television
- Stereos went hi-fi, and portable phonographs and television sets (black-and-white only) were introduced
- Electric skillet
- Upright vacuum cleaners
1960s homes were usually insulated, but not to current standards, and typically have single-pane windows. These homes had electrical plugs (but not enough for modern use) and phone jacks in most rooms.
Concerns for the modern buyer of a 1960s-built house include the electric service (if it hasn’t been upgraded), incoming steel water pipes/steel drain pipes (if they haven’t been replaced), and the use of lead-based paints and asbestos products.
Larry Mitchell, Texas Realtor
Broker Associate, ABR. CRS. GRI, VLB
LMSells@aol.com
254 681 5115 Cell